Am I towing too much?

Hello, I purchased my 2008 (small 4 cylinder) used Tacoma when I lived in the city. The person who owned it before me had a towing hitch (10,000 lbs.) installed. I've since moved to the country and have a farm. I installed helper springs, and an electronic brake for the trailer I bought. I decided that 4-5 times a year I'd have to tow my tractor. I looked at the owners manual and it said that I could tow up to 6500 lbs. My tractor and trailer weigh about 6400 lbs. I had them weighed on a scale where scrap metal is reclaimed. I live in the mountains of W. Maryland. One of the mountains I climb is 6-7% grade and I'm only going 25 mph when I get to the top. I don't push it. I put it in a lower gear and take my time. On more level road I keep it in 3rd gear to keep the revs up.

My question is am I unduly stressing this truck?

She's a gutty little thing and if I'm asking too much I'll buy a bigger truck. I really don't want another or bigger truck. This one does everything I ask of it. It gets excellent maintenance and since I know it well I don't want to have to go thru all the overhead of purchasing another truck and getting it all set up the way I have this one set up. I made a really nice rack last winter and I'd prefer not to have to do that again. Anyone have any thoughts? Thanks for your input.

 

Your going to have to make a decision, Can the truck do it? yes it can but for how long. I know people who refuse to get a bigger truck that need them and end up broke down because it just can't do what they ask all the time. I have a 13' DCSB with a 4.0 and ask a lot of it and know one day she is going to give up. For me and what I am starting to do more and more I'll end up with an older 3/4 or 1 ton soon. It's all about the money at the end of the day, how much are you willing to part with in repairs or getting that bigger truck.

 

I thought the towing capacity for a 4-banger was 3,500?
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-tacoma-towing-bible.4031/#post-35019

 

6 Cylinder with tow package is 6500 Lbs.

 

Keep the little truck as your daily driver and pick up a cheap, clapped-out used 3/4 ton for the 4-5 times a year you need to tow.

(edit) You should have a beater truck for the farm anyway.

 

That is almost double what your truck is rated for. NO WAY!!

 

e said he has a 4 cylinder though.

 

Even with my v6 towing package i wouldnt pull that much!

 

Its a bad idea to exceed the rated capacity of a machine, where legal liability and others' lives may be involved.

 

how far are you towing this tractor?

 

Exactly

 

You are towing far over the limit. How far to you tow your tractor?

 

6500 lbs towing capacity is a best-case scenario (AC + 4x2 config). When you you start adding options like four wheel drive and a longer wheelbase (such as the DCLB config), the towing capacity beings to drop after that. At any rate it is significantly higher than the gen 1 (3.4 liter V6) that had a 5,000 lb towing capacity.

 

Liability wise, a good lawyer could most likely argue you out of problems due to going over the 4-cyl's "printed limit" on account of all of the RELEVANT gear related to safety being identical between it and the 6-cyl (frame, brakes, steering components, etc.). In some jurisdictions, you can get "farm" plates that basically make the towing limit legally meaningless. I.e., you can feel free to tow 20,000 pounds with a printed limit of 1,000.... but do try to use good judgment.

As far as the machine goes, the only issue that will come up with the 4-cyl (when compared with the 6) with incredibly heavy loads, is in getting it to actually move, and it actually does a darned good job of that!

As far as over taxing it, I'd say that these little buggers are made to be overtaxed. I've moved plenty of loads that are pushing into the 9,000 pound range. HOWEVER, I wouldn't be trying to move that big of a load through any mountains at high elevations, except in a genuine emergency (which is a very unlikely situation).

The way I see the tow ratings is like this;
There is the "tow package" rating, of something about 6500 pounds, and there is the "everything else" rating, which is 3500 pounds. The range of different configurations in the "everything else" range is so huge, that they CANNOT reasonably be expected to even have *similar* real limits. For instance, while 3500 pounds may be a reasonable limit for a 5-lug automatic, it doesn't make any sense on a 4x4, regardless of the engine. On the 5-lug (and especially the automatic), the gearing is higher (even after compensating for the smaller wheel circumference), the tires are smaller, the brakes are smaller. Obviously, its limits are lower than the 4x4. Also, identically equipped 4 and 6 cyl trucks have the exact same tow rating of 3500 pounds (no tow "package") -- so obviously it isn't the engine that makes the difference.

So "my gut" tells me that if you equip the 4-cyl to tow (hitch, wiring, brakes), then it will do the same job as the 6 does, just maybe a bit slower.

 

If you pull more than what the vehicle is rated for and something happens, you will be held responsible. Do not go over what the vehicle is rated. You can pull that weight, but stopping is the issue.

years ago I once read a person was pulling a camper and it was over what his truck could pull. Sadly there was an accident, people were killed, and that driver of the truck pulling that camper was charged with killing those people. Manslaughter I think? it's been years. Not worth it.

 

Yeah I agree with shocked and not just stopping, it's control in general. Just because you can do something doesn't mean that you should do it. Safety ratings are developed for a reason. And bumpers with no rating should be used with caution even though their manufacturers say they are better than a rated OEM hitch.

 

he has a 4 banger.tow limit is 3500.he tows too much.at some point it will go bad.
a 6 cylinder can be set up to do it and will do it a lot more than he wants too.he doesn't need more than a Tacoma.but he needs the right tacoma

 

Its a little bit more complicated than that, actually.
There is also a BIG difference between being CHARGED, and being CONVICTED.
A charge amounts to nothing more than a THEORY. The THEORY must be proven, and that is the *entire* reason for COURT.

It takes more than just going over the ratings to get a manslaughter charge to stick (i.e., CONVICTION) if somebody dies in a collision.
The burden of proving your responsibility lies on the court.
They would have to prove that you were actually at fault in the collision (which can be shared), and that loading (or overloading) condition was a direct contributing factor that could reasonably be linked to the collision -- i.e., given the manoeuvring attempts that you made and within a REASONABLE set of SKILLS (you can't hold everybody on the road to the skill level of a professional driver), that had the load been within the limit and properly safe, that the deaths would NOT have happened.

In other words, this question must be answered as "YES": "If the load was within the limits, would a TYPICAL driver in the SAME circumstances have have been able to avoid the collision or reduce its severity measurably such as to avoid people dying?"

In order for the driver of the overloaded vehicle to be CONVICTED of manslaughter, he probably would have had to lose control of the vehicle in GOOD driving conditions (not snow or ice), and DIRECTLY CAUSE the collision.

Also note that a load need not be over the WEIGHT limit to be deemed UNSAFE, and that there is a directly relation between SPEED and what you can safely carry, i.e., faster = less load. There are MANY things that need to be considered.

I'll give you an example of an overloaded situation where the operator of that overloaded vehicle could not be held responsible for deaths;
Operator of overloaded vehicle is coming around a blind corner with a bridge and under the speed limit (there is no possible way to move out of lane to avoid anything), keeping the load fully within his lane and completely under control. Other driver is coming from the opposite direction and looks at his phone when coming up on the blind corner by the bridge, reacts to the corner late, front end collision with overloaded vehicle IN the lane occupied by the overloaded vehicle. The second vehicle is, say, convertible sports car, and wedges itself UNDER the overloaded vehicle, driver dies. Overloaded or not, the driver of the convertible sports car is 100% at fault for the collision, including his own death. If the cops really feel like it, yes, they could get him for exceeding the capacity -- but that would be a "don't do that" ticket and a fine, but they can't get him for dangerous driving or anything else that contributes to the collision, since it wasn't a contributing factor. Especially since it can be demonstrated that the driver of the overloaded vehicle was COMPLETELY under control and taking it real easy by driving less than the speed limit.

Now that isn't to advocate for driving over the limits, just to say that there is a lot more to think about in such an example than simply "overloaded = manslaughter".

 

That really depends on WHICH 4-cyl he has. What he says is "(small 4 cylinder)" -- not sure if he is referring to the ENGINE as "small", or the truck itself. If he is referring to the truck itself, then that could suggest that it is a 5-lug, which I would absolutely agree, is NOT in the same league as any 6-cyl (except maybe x-runner). Now if he is just referring to the engine, then there is really no distinction between the 4 and the 6 cyl as far as controlling the load goes -- just in getting it rolling. Pre-runner and 4x4 trucks all have the exact same equipment in terms of steering, braking, suspension, etc. Now the thing with the 4-cyl, is that it is more than enough power to move loads vastly exceeding the tow limits even on the "towing package equipped" 6-cyl. Look back to the 70's and 80's and you had less powerful engines on full size trucks with tow limits of 10,000-12,000 pounds.